


Polar Plunge

by TheWritingGiant



Series: Upstead Whump [1]
Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:29:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27591392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWritingGiant/pseuds/TheWritingGiant
Summary: While chasing a suspect, Hailey finds herself in the middle of Lake Michigan, in the middle of December. After teetering on the edge of something more for so long, is Hailey's icy dip precisely the thing that'll bring the partners closer together?
Relationships: Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton
Series: Upstead Whump [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2016962
Comments: 3
Kudos: 113





	Polar Plunge

**Author's Note:**

> So this story is the first in an upcoming series of Upstead whumps I've been working on. They're going to alternate between Hailey and Jay getting hurt; some will be humorous, some more serious. If you have something that you'd like to see don't be afraid to prompt it in the comments. Enjoy

It was mid-December in Chicago, Christmas was still a week away, snow already laid inches thick on the ground and was still falling. Hailey Upton would give anything to be at home curled up on her couch with a book and a cup of coffee. Better yet, someplace with white sandy beaches, crashing waves and too fruity tropical drinks. It was a surprising thought, winter was usually her favourite season, but it did make certain aspects of being a cop challenging like having a foot race with a suspect. Chasing people down in the warmer months was no picnic, but in winter, through all the snow and slush and ice, having to run after someone really sucked. Today she was running through Northerly Island Park, her partner, Jay Halstead, a few strides ahead of her. Her lungs were burning, not only because she was running, but also because it was twenty-three degrees out, double the burn, but she couldn't stop. They had a suspect to catch.

It had all kicked off far too early that morning, at four am, when three-year-old Imogen Baird, had been reported missing. Her parents had been at a charity event when someone broke into their Gold Coast home, they coldcocked the babysitter, locked her in a hall closet, and took the toddler. The babysitter was shaken up and a little bruised, but she'd be fine. Imogen's parents, however, were distraught and had called their close personal friend, CPD Superintendent Jason Crawford. The Superintendent had assigned Intelligence to the case right away. By the time the unit arrived, the Baird's had security footage and a list of everyone who had been in and out of their house over the last several weeks waiting. Atwater and Burgess got straight to word tapping into their phones in case of a ransom call and then began a deep dive into all their other communications. Meanwhile, her, Jay, Adam and Voight got started on the list of people and chased leads as they came in, but they all came up dry.

In the end, it was Mrs Baird who blew the case wide open. After striking out with the last person on the list, Hailey had taken the frantic mother to the kitchen for a cup of tea to calm her nerves. She complimented the space.

"Thank you," she gave a weak smile. "We just finished the remodel a couple of months ago."

A look passed over the woman's face. "What is it, Mrs Baird?"

"There was a member of the crew," she started. "He didn't do anything…"

"But?"

"He was just was very; I don't know, attentive? He stared at Immy a lot. Nothing inappropriate," the woman insisted. "He would watch her play when she was in the living room, made comments about what a sweet girl she was, I didn't think anything of it. Immy loved talking to the renovators; she's such a social little girl. But then you all mentioned people that maybe paid her too much attention and then there was the fox."

"I'm sorry, but a fox? What fox?"

"I honestly thought it was rather sweet," Mrs Baird continued. "He brought her a toy, a little stuffed fox. Immy loves it. She sleeps with it every night. But this was all months ago, am I just overthinking? Misinterpreting a sweet gesture because of all this?"

"Hey, it's okay," Hailey soothed. "It's something for us to look into. Do you remember his name?"

"No," she shook her head. "But the contractor was James Hayden. I still have his card. He should have a record of his crew, right?"

"He should," Hailey nodded. "Go get the card; we'll look into it."

"Chase it down," Voight ordered when she brought him up to speed. "You and Halstead, keep me in the loop. We'll keep sorting through the tips as they come in."

James Hayden remembered the Baird remodel very well. Including his crew. He pointed them to Lawrence Moore, who still worked for him. By all accounts, he was a decent man, a 35 years old carpenter, with only a few parking tickets on his record. Moore was recently divorced, and lost his young son, Paul, to leukaemia just a year before. He had called in sick to work the last few days, but when Jay and Hailey swung by his apartment he wasn't there, and his phone was either off or dead because every trace they'd run on the device had come up dry.

They brought in his ex-wife, Victoria, hoping she had some idea where he was, but she didn't. Victoria hadn't spoken to Lawrence since the divorce was finalized a few months before. Still, she refused to believe he had anything to do with Imogen's kidnapping. "He's a good man. He wouldn't do this."

"Do you have any way we could get in touch with him?" Jay asked. "Is there anywhere he would go?"

"His mother's maybe, they've always been pretty close," Victoria pulled out her phone to look up the number. "She lives in Bucktown."

"Ms Moore, wait," Hailey looked at her phone screen. "Is that your son?"

"Yes," she smiled sadly and traced the little boy's face. "That's my Paul, why?"

Hailey showed Jay the picture, and she knew he thought the same thing she did, Paul Moore and Imogen Baird could be twins. They had the same shade of tawny brown curls, the same bright hazel eyes, and the deep dimpled smile on their sweet heart-shaped faces. It was too big a coincidence. 

"Ms Moore," Jay started. "How did Lawrence handle the loss of your son?"

"Not well, I suppose," Victoria frowned. "It's not an easy thing losing a child. Especially when you watch them suffer for so long. But Paul was a fighter."

"Of course," Hailey offered a sympathetic smile.

"Lawrence was sad, we both were," she continued. "But a few weeks after Paul's funeral, he started talking about having another baby. I wasn't ready, but he kept insisting. We fought about it more and more, until it felt like it was all-consuming. It's why I filed for divorce. But I'm telling you though. You have the wrong man, Lawrence would never hurt a child, he loves them."

Despite his ex's plea, Voight had them put out a BOLO for Moore, and within an hour someone had called in about a man fitting Moore's description with a little girl near the Planetarium. And now here they were, chasing Lawrence Moore through the park. Hailey could see Imogen in his arms, her light brown ringlets bouncing as the man tore across the snow-covered ground. But her and Jay were gaining. 

"Lawrence Moore," Jay hollered, his breath coming out in a thick white cloud. "Stop running."

The man looked over his shoulder, Hailey could see the desperation in his eyes. "You got nowhere to run Moore," Adam's voice rang out, as he came into view ahead of them trying to head the man off.

It's like Hailey could see what the man was planning before he did it, as he looked between the little girl in his arms, the gaining police, and the lake beside them. Imogen couldn't have been much more than thirty pounds. Still, she was slowing him down. Whatever Moore's motivation was to take the girl, it didn't outweigh his fight or flight instinct. Before they knew it, he chucked the toddler into the freezing waters of Lake Michigan.

Hailey was out of her vest and ditching her gun before Imogen hit the water. "I've got her," she shouted at Jay as she dove in the dark lake. It was hard not to gasp cold water hit her, stabbing at her skin like hundreds of knives as she swam. Imogen was yards ahead of her, drifting along with the current, sinking slowly; Hailey kicked her legs as fast as she could clawing at the water between them. Her lungs were screaming for air by the time she surfaced, the little girl unmoving in her arms.

"She's not breathing," Hailey panted and passed the toddler off to Jay at the shoreline.

"The ambo's two minutes out."

Hailey watched as Jay laid Imogen on the ground, his jacket spread out beneath her tiny body. She was doubled over, her hands on her knees as she struggled to catch her breath. "I don't think she has a pulse," Jay fired over his shoulder as he started compressions. "Hailey, you good?"

Was she good? She wasn't sure, she was hot, boiling really, it was kind of funny considering how cold the water had been. Her lungs burned more now than they had earlier, despite how hard she was sucking in air. And her head, when did it start spinning? "Hailey?"

She looked up at Jay as darkness spread from the edges of her vision. She could see the worry on his face, it was the last thing she saw before the dark fully enveloped her, and she hit the ground.

*

The next time she opened her eyes there was a blinding light, she quickly slammed them shut again and groaned. "There she is," a voice chuckled. Hailey cracked one eye open and saw the familiar red hair of her second favourite Halstead. "How are you feeling, Hailey?"

It took a second for her to parse that out, how did she feel? Her head ached, her sides hurt, and there was just a general sense of numb through the rest of her. But none of that was really what bothered her the most. "I'm freezing," her teeth chattered. She took note of her surroundings. She was in one of the trauma bays in the ED; she could see the hustle and bustle of the nurses and doctors through the crack in the curtain. There was an IV in her arm; she could feel it the pressure of it in her hand. The fleece from the rescue blanket was soft and warm against her skin. "Where are my clothes?"

"They had to cut them off in the ambulance," a voice came from her left.

"Jay?"

"Hey, partner," he smiled. "You scared the crap outta me."

It all came flooding back to her, the chase, the lake, the girl. "Imogen?"

"Nat's with her," Will offered. "So you know she is getting the best care."

Hailey nodded. "When can I get out of here?"

"I want to keep overnight for observation."

"Not happening," she shook her head. "We have work to do."

"Hailey," Jay frowned. Will just rolled his eyes; he'd expected that.

"If you were in my position, you'd be saying the same thing," she glared at the brunet. At least she thought she was; she couldn't really feel her face. "Give me whatever forms I need to sign, and some clothes then we can get going."

"Hailey," Will shook his head. "You're hypothermic; your core temp was 82 degrees when they brought you in. We've warmed you up a bit, but you're still not out of the woods."

"How long was I out?" She looked between the brothers

"Three hours," Jay answered.

"'Three hours'?" She sat bolt up only to moan as pain burst through her head.

Will pushed her back down, gently. "We've been giving you warmed saline, it brought your temperature up to 88 degrees, but there's still a long way to go."

"I'm not staying, I feel fine," she insisted, as a shiver ran through her.

"Yeah, we'd believe that, if you didn't look like Leonardo DiCaprio at the end of the Titanic," she shot Jay another glare.

"Let's make a deal, okay?" Will drew her attention back to him.

"I'm listening."

"The threshold for hypothermia is 95 degrees," he started. "When we get you to 93 degrees, and I'll let you go home. But Jay needs to stay with you; you should not be alone tonight. And you sign an AMA, but that's just hospital policy."

"90 degrees," she countered.

"93, or I keep you here until you're warmed completely. And I'll get Dr Charles to say not competent enough to sign the AMA."

Hailey stared the older Halstead down with a frown, but it was clear he wasn't going to budge. "Fine."

"Good," Will squeezed her shoulder and headed to the door. "I'll have a nurse bring you something warm to drink and change of clothes."

"You must be feeling off," Jay smirked. "I've never seen you lose a staring contest before."

Before she could respond, Will poked his head back into the room. "Jay," he beckoned a hand at his brother to join him in the hall.

"What's up?"

"There are a few things you need to be prepared for," Will was in full Doctor mode. "Even after Hailey's temperature comes back up she's probably going to shiver, it's her systems way of trying to maintain that temperature. She's likely going to experience tiredness, headaches, muscle cramps; it could be a rough night."

"We've had them before."

"You need to keep her warm. Try and get a warm meal into her, and make sure she has plenty of fluids. Broth, tea, hot chocolate, and water. Minimal caffeine and absolutely no alcohol."

Jay snapped his fingers. "There goes our beer pong tournament with Kev and Burgess."

"I'm serious, Jay," his brother frowned. "Check her temperature every so often; if it drops, or she falls asleep, and you can't wake her up, you got to get her back here. Right away. Got it?"

"Got it," he nodded.

"Okay, I'll be in to check on her in a little bit."

Will departed with a quick hug, and Jay went back into Hailey's room, April right behind him. "Here you go Detective," she passed Hailey a drink and hospital gown.

Hailey took both with a grateful smile, and took a sip of the drink; she did best to hide her grimace as the taste of hot chocolate hit her tongue. She hated the stuff, it was too sweet, too creamy and clung to her tongue and in the back of her throat. But it was warm, and at that moment she couldn't ask for much more than that.

"Hailey," Jay picked his coat up off the chair. "You good if I run out for a bit? I'll be as quick as I can."

"No rush," she shrugged and took another sip of the foul drink. "It's not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon."

"That's right," April gave her a sly grin, as she swapped out the IV bags. "But you're awake now, so it should go faster."

"See you in a bit," Jay smiled and headed out the door, forming a to-do list in his mind.

He didn't even make it to the ED door when Natalie blocked his path. "You got a minute?"

"Sure," he nodded. "But just a minute. What's up?"

"Imogen's parents want to see you," she explained and led him to the bay across from Hailey's.

He could see the little girl in the bed. Her eyes were closed, and she looked tiny under the thick warming blankets. It was heartbreaking. "How's she doing?"

"Still unconscious," Natalie answered. "But she's breathing on her own and responding to stimuli. We won't have a complete picture until she wakes up, but I'm optimistic." He let out a breath of relief as she knocked on the door. "Mr and Mrs Baird? Detective Halstead's here."

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you," Imogen's mother rushed him with a hug. "You saved our daughter's life."

"Of course," he smiled at them both. "But really it was all my partner. She's the one who dove in after her."

"Is she going to be alright?" Mr Baird asked, shaking Jay's hand.

"Awake and warming up as we speak."

"We can't thank you enough," the man said. "All of you truly. We're so grateful."

"Just doing our jobs," Jay wave it off. "I'm just glad this one seems to have a happy ending."

Jay left the family with his best wishes and went about his tasks. The first stop was Hailey's house. He headed upstairs to her room and dug through her closet. Pulling out a pair of the thickest sweatpants he could find, a long sleeve shirt, and her favourite orange Bears hoodie, Jay stuffed it all into an empty gym bag he had in the bed of his truck. 

Next was a quick scan of Hailey's kitchen, but there wasn't a whole lot there. Jay could see the makings of a list stuck to her fridge and snapped a photo of it before he headed to the store. He picked up a few things from her list but geared his shopping towards what Will had told him, keeping Hailey warm. Jay grabbed a loaf of bread, a couple of types of cheese, and a few cans of different kinds of soup for the meal he had in mind. Then he wandered the aisles. To the cart, Jay added some porridge and the white cheddar mac and cheese shells that he knew Hailey loved. Finally, Jay made sure to pick up the largest jug of apple cider he could find; it was Hailey's preferred hot drink, second only to coffee. He also grabbed a bushel of bananas, a few bottles of Gatorade and a thermometer, in case Hailey had any cramps, and to check her temperature. 

He paid for everything and put it all in the back of his truck. He made a quick call to Voight to give him an update on Hailey and see where the others were at with the case before he headed back to the hospital. Hailey was still shivering under the blankets when he stepped back into the room. "Brought you some real clothes," he held up the bag.

"Thanks," she smiled as he dropped it on the bed and turned around so she could have some privacy.

"I talked to Voight," he told her as she pulled on the sweats. "Moore's in custody, but it sounds like his lawyer is going to try for an insanity plea."

"Like Voight's going to let that happen," she rolled her eyes and finished getting changed. "You can turn around now." He did. "And the girl?" she hopped back on the bed.

"Nat thinks she's going to make a full recovery," Jay watched as she struggled to get the blanket around her once again. It didn't seem like her arms were cooperating. "Let me help with that."

"That's good," she leaned into his warmth as wound the blanket tight around her shoulders. "Thanks."

"Her parents you send theirs."

"Team effort," her words were muffled by his chest as she pressed in closer. He was always a space heater; she never appreciated that more than she did at that moment.

"Hey," he wrapped his arms around her and frowned as he felt just how violent her trembling really was. "What you did was amazing Hailey. Stupid, but amazing."

She head-butted his chest; it was all she could do with her arms trapped by the blanket. "Like you weren't two seconds away from doing the same thing."

"Fair," Jay laughed. "How are you doing?"

"Well, my temp was up to 91 degrees when April was last in, so I guess hot chocolate is good for something after all," she said. "Think we can convince your brother to spring me early?"

"No, you can not," the man in question responded as he walked through the door.

Hailey shivered as Jay pulled away from her. "We've got work to do," she protested.

"Actually," Jay sat back down in the chair beside her. "Voight doesn't want to see you in the district until Monday. I'm under orders not to even get your paperwork for you. He says our reports can wait."

She groaned and flopped back against the bed. Paperwork sucked but getting behind with it was worse, she always liked to get it done as soon as she could, so it wasn't weighing on her mind.

"It won't be much longer," Will promised. "How are you feeling, any pain? Numbness?"

"Nope," Hailey shook her head. "Just cold. I think I liked it better before I passed out, I was boiling then."

"That's what sever hypothermia does to you."

Will took the blanket off of her shoulders and had her go through some movements. He tested her range of motion and checked her fingers and toes for signs of frostbite one more time. April came back in with another hot chocolate and checked her temperature. "92.2 degrees," she told the doctor.

"No," Will said before Hailey could even open her mouth. "93, that's the deal."

"Come on," Hailey pleaded.

"How can you possibly a worse patient than Jay?" 

"Hey," both detectives bristled as Will headed out the door.

April laughed pressed the drink into Hailey's hands. "Drink that down, and you'll be out of here before you know it."

"Thank you, April," she smiled at her as Jay resettled the blanket around her shoulders.

The nurse left the room with a squeeze to Hailey's knee, and Jay watched as the blonde took a sip of the drink. "I can't believe you're actually drinking hot chocolate, willingly. Remember that time you and Kim got your cups mixed up on that surveillance op in Pilsen? I think they're still cleaning the spray off the walls of the van."

"Beggars can't be choosers," Hailey shrugged.

"Well, I made sure to pick up plenty of apple cider," he smiled. "Hopefully it's not a frozen block by the time get out of here. Maybe I should have picked up the powdered stuff."

"Ah," she grinned. "Winter in Chicago, everyone loves that free outdoor freezer, until it's midnight you want a glass of that juice you put outside the door and get a slushy instead."

"I don't think you can say much about waiting to thaw out right now," Jay shot back with a smirk. 

They laughed and chatted about random things as Hailey sipped and shivered until April came back in about an hour later. "Congratulations Hailey," she smiled as the thermometer beeped. "I'll get Dr Halstead. You're at 93.5."

"Finally."

Things happened quickly from there. Will came in for a final check and a tablet with the AMA form already loaded. "No offence," he checked a few things off on the screen. "But I really don't want to see either of you for a while. In the ED at least."

"Same," Hailey smiled as Jay helped her into her jacket.

"Remember what I said," he looked at his brother, Jay nodded. "Alright, have a good night, you guys."

"All set?" Jay asked, and Hailey nodded. "I didn't think to grab you a beanie," he realized and dug through his pockets to see if he had one.

Hailey just reached back and popped her hood up. "All good, now let's get out of here."

She settled into Jay's truck, as he cranked the heat and turned her seat warmer as high as it would go as he started towards her house for the second time that day. Hailey still shivered, while he was nearly sweating. When they arrived at her place Haileyall but jumped from the cab and rushed into her house before Jay could put the truck in park. He grabbed the groceries from the back seat and followed. 

"So what do you want to do?" Jay asked as he put the groceries away. "I could make you some dinner, get you a cup of cider or tea, or do you just want to rest?"

"I want to work," she said from the island, her laptop open in front of her.

"Hailey," Jay reached over and closed the lid. "You can't, Voight's orders."

"So let me use your login."

"No way," he shook his head and snatched up the device, putting it on top of the fridge. 

"Who you more afraid of Jay?" Hailey glared at him, as he prepared a couple of mugs of cider. "Me or our boss?"

"Our boss," he didn't hesitate to answer. "No contest. How is that even a question?"

She frowned, and Jay laughed as he pressed the warmed drink into her hands. "You're supposed to rest Hailey. Come on, you're still shivering, and I can hear your teeth chattering."

She tried to suppress the next tremble as she took a sip of apple cider, and let out a pleased sigh as the spices floated over tastebuds. Now that was a drink. "Fine," she relented, seeing the concern on Jay's face. "How about a movie marathon, say Pirates?"

"Sounds good," he smiled. "Are you hungry? I picked up soup, porridge, mac and cheese, and all the fixings for the Halstead special."

"'The Halstead special'?" She raised her eyebrows. "Well, as curious as I am to know what that is, I'm not really hungry."

"Okay," he nodded. "Maybe later, you just let me know." 

"Come on," She rose from her seat. "Let's get this marathon started."

"Where are you going?" Jay called as she walked through the living room to the stairs.

"My room," she returned. "Get a move on Halstead."

Hailey turned the TV on and loaded the streaming service, as she heard Jay's footsteps in the hall. She turned down the blankets and rearranged the pillows against the headboard. 

"You sure about this?" she looked up to see Jay standing in the doorway. 

He'd never really been in her room. It'd only happened a handful of times before. There were the few times he guided her to bed after a night of trying to keep up with Vanessa at Molly's, doing his best to make sure she didn't stumble and fall. Once after an undercover op, when she'd sprained her ankle when her too-high heels slipped on wet stairs, Jay carried her to her bed and propped her swollen ankle up on a mountain of pillows. Then a few hours ago, when he came by to got her clothes. He never lingered, and he had never been in her bed before.

"Jay," she huffed. "It's fine. We'll both be more comfortable in here, plus it'll be easier if I fall asleep. You won't have to lug me up the stairs, this time."

"Like you're so hard to carry," he smirked but relented. "You get settled in. I'm gonna go get us some more hot cider."

"K," she settled on her side of the mattress as he left. She stripped off her sweater, tugged the blankets over her and selected the first Pirate of the Caribbean movie. Then she waited, scrolling through her phone and reading the well-wishes the rest of Intelligence had sent her.

She was just finishing up a reply to Kim when Jay came back in, two steaming mugs of cider in his hands. "You could have started the movie."

"I didn't want you to miss anything."

"You didn't want me to miss the first three minutes of a film I've seen a thousand times," he grinned and passed her one of the mugs. "That's so cute."

"Shut up," she quickly took a sip of the drink as Jay settled in beside her and pressed play.

The end credits rolled before either spoke again. It was Jay, who broke the silence. "I never realized how quiet this place was without Vanessa."

"Yeah," Hailey nodded and started up the next movie. "It's not really been the same since she left."

The young officer always kept up a running commentary whenever they watched anything, movies, tv shows, sports, it didn't matter. Jay actually taped her mouth shut once during a Hawks game because she would not stop talking. A week after Hailey came back from New York, the DEA had approached Intelligence; they were interested in a loan-out officer for a long term undercover assignment. Vanessa was eager and ambitious, and she'd jumped at the opportunity. Hailey was happy for her, but she missed her friend, her sister. 

"Any word on how she's doing?" Hailey shook her head. "Hey, no news is good news, right?"

"Yeah," she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. It was true, with undercover cases you only really heard anything if something went very, very wrong. She was going to continue when her stomach let out a loud rumble.

Jay raised an eyebrow. "You hungry?"

"Apparently," she kicked the blankets off of her legs.

"What are you doing?" he asked, getting off the bed.

"You said you picked up some groceries," Hailey looked at him like he was crazy. "I'll go make us some food."

"I got that," he insisted. "You rest."

"Jay, you've done enough, really," she made her way to the door. "You watch the movie; I'll get it."

"You nearly turned into a Hailey-sicle today," he blocked her path. "Get your butt back in that bed. I can make dinner."

"Jay," she sidestepped.

"Hailey," he shifted with her.

The blonde huffed and gave the man a little shove, as she tried to move him out of the way. "Seriously, Jay, move."

"Okay," he shrugged and bent down to scoop her up.

"Whoa," she clutched at his shoulders as he carried her back over to the bed.

He dropped her, gently, on the mattress, but Hailey wasn't going to let him get away that easily. She locked her arms around his neck and pulled him down, pulled down on top of her. She was going to roll them over and run for the door, but she couldn't. Jay wouldn't budge or more to the point she couldn't make him budge. Jay peeled her arms off his neck and pinned them to the mattress on either side of Hailey's head. "Okay," he wore a frown instead of the triumphant smirk he usually would have. "That was way easier than it should have been."

Hailey sighed in defeat. Not because she got pinned, but because she knew it was useless to keep fighting how she was really feeling. "My arms feel like they weigh a hundred pounds."

"Well, then, maybe you should listen to my brother and get some rest," he gave her a smug smile.

"Like you would."

"True," he chuckled. "But you're supposed to be the smart one."

"I guess it's not the worst idea," she surrendered. "Luckily, I have my partner here to take care of me."

"Partner?" he repeated. "Is that all I am?"

He meant the words to be teasing, but like it or not, they caused a shift in the air, one they both felt. "My best friend," Hailey whispered.

Jay let out a teasing gasp. "I'm telling Vanessa you said that."

"Jay," Hailey shook her head. They froze as silence fell between them, one they'd found themselves in before. The type of silence that spoke volumes and screamed all the words they could never give voice. 

It was Jay who made the first move as his thumbs traced back and forth over the skin of her wrists. He leaned in slowly and pressed his lips to hers. It was soft and gentle, and over far too soon for Hailey's liking. "Sorry," he whispered as he pulled back. "I shouldn't have… I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Hailey lifted her head and returned her lips to his. She shifted her arms in his hold and threaded their fingers together on one hand as the other reached up to tangle through his hair, pulling him closer.

She was still cold to the touch, and she still shivered too frequently for his liking, but Jay hoped that maybe those weren't just from the cold. He trailed his lips across her jaw and down her neck, Hailey leaned her head to the side and sighed as he trailed down further. His lips just grazed her collar when Hailey pushed him back with a sharp hiss. "What's wrong?" Jay's head shot up. "Are you okay?"

"Cramp," Hailey screwed up her face in pain as her calf seized tightly. "Major cramp."

Jay untangled himself from her and fought to keep the smile off his face at her protest. "Be right back," he threw over his shoulder and hurried out of the room.

Hailey shifted around on the bed until she rested back on her pillows, and tried to stretch out her calf, but it just made things worse. She looked up at Jay as he came back into the room, a tall glass of water and a couple of bananas in his hands.

"Will said they help with cramps," he said as he opened the peel and passed the fruit over. "Can I try something?" she nodded around a mouth full of the fruit. Jay picked up her left leg and as gently flexed her foot back and forth. "Any better?" he asked as she finished the first banana.

"Getting there," she shrugged. "Come here."

Jay set her leg back down and settled in beside her. Hailey cuddled into his side and did her best to stifle a yawn. "Don't fight sleep, Hailey. I got you; I'm not going anywhere."

"K, but," she craned her neck to look up at him. "That thing we were doing earlier?"

"Yeah?" he quirked an eyebrow. "What about it?"

"To be continued in the morning," she pressed a kiss to his neck and snuggled deeper into his warmth.

"Looking forward to it," he dropped his lips to the crown of her head and brought his fingers up to her hair. Between the warmth of Jay's body and the feeling of his fingers playing with her hair, she was lulled to sleep in moments. But the next morning, feeling more rested than she had in a long time, Hailey more than made good on her promise.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading.


End file.
